SMART BLOGGERZ's SMART CONTEST Prizes Worth $300 & an iPod Nano

Hi everyone. I wanna tell you about an awesome contest where you can win various prizes worth $300 plus an Apple iPod Nano with 8GB capacity. The Contest is called "Smart Bloggerz Smart Contest" which is being held at Smart Bloggerz

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1st Prize
An awesome logo designing specially for your blog worth $50 from Mr.Javo
A 125x125 pixels ad for December month on Knowliz
A 125x125 pixels ad for 1 month on Smart Bloggerz
A 125x125 pixels rotating ad for 2 months on BlogNetAwards


2nd Prize
A Text Link Ad for 1 month worth $10 on Themelib
A 125x125 banner ad for 1 month worth $50 on Wilcox-Studios
A Text Link Ad for 1 month on Smart Bloggerz

3rd Prize
A 125x125 pixels ad for one month worth $20 on Rockfuse
A 125x125 pixels ad for January month on Knowliz
A Text Link Ad for 1 month on Smart Bloggerz

4th Prize
A Text Link ad for 1 month worth $10 at Shanker Bakhshi's Blog
A 125x125 banner ad for 1 month worth $50 on Wilcox-Studios
A 125x125 pixels ad for February month on Knowliz

5th Prize
Any one wordpress template to choose free of cost worth $29 from Wordpress Templates
A 125x125 banner ad for 1 month on The Fountain Of Happiness
A 125x125 banner ad for 1 month on Da Blogger

6th Prize
Get $5 via Paypal from Wonderful things In Life
150x50 Banner Ad for a month worth $20 on lifeOmaniac
A Text Link ad for 1 month on Rapidshoots

7th Prize
A 125x125 banner ad for 1 month worth $25 on Contest Whiz
A 125x125 banner ad for 1 month on Mitk World
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8th Prize
A 125x125 pixels ad for 1 month worth on Bloganol
A 125x125 pixels ad for March month on Knowliz
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9th Prize
A 125x125 pixels ad for 1 month worth $20 onIndocontest
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A 125x125 pixels ad for April month on Knowliz

10th Prize
A 125x125 pixels ad for 1 month on Cheth Studios
A 125x125 pixels ad for 1 month on Love Is A Perfect Gift
A 125x125 pixels ad for 1 month on Rapidshoots

Entrecard Prizes(Winners Of This will be chosen by me randomly)

2000 EC from Cheth Studios
1000 EC from MichaelPark
1000 EC from Blog About Contests
1000 EC from Wonderful things In Life
1000 EC from Wilcox-Studios
1000 EC from Wilcox-Studios

I suggest you should really participate in this contest. It's Very Easy. To know more about this contest like "How to Participate?" or any other such thing Click This Link.

Best Of Luck Guys

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Skull and Bones

Skull and Bones is an elite secret society based at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. The society's alumni organization, which owns the society's real property and oversees the organization's activity, is known as the Russell Trust Association, and is named after General William Huntington Russell founding member of the Bones' organization along with fellow classmate Alphonso Taft. In conversation, the group is known as "Bones", and members have been known as "Bonesmen".

In the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, both the Democratic and Republican nominees were alumni. George W. Bush writes in his autobiography, "[In my] senior year I joined Skull and Bones, a secret society; so secret, I can't say anything more." When asked what it meant that he and Bush were both Bonesmen, former Presidential candidate John Kerry said, "Not much because it's a secret."

Skull and Bones was formed in 1832 as a result of a dispute among Yale's debating societies, Linonia, Brothers in Unity, and Calliope over the Phi Beta Kappa awards.

It was once referred to as The Brotherhood of Death, but a more common alternative name was Eulogia. The only "chapter" of Skull and Bones created outside Yale was a chapter at Wesleyan University in 1870. That chapter, the Beta of Skull & Bones, became independent in 1872 in a dispute over control over creating additional chapters; the Beta Chapter reconstituted itself as Theta Nu Epsilon.

The emblem of Skull and Bones is a skull with crossed bones, over the number "322". Some have speculated that 322 stands for "founded in '32, 2nd corps", referring to a first corps in some unknown German university which has never been found. Others suggest that 322 refers to the era of Demosthenes and that documents in the society hall have purportedly been found dated to "Anno-Demostheni".

By reputation, "Bonesmen" tapped the current football and heavyweight rowing captains, as well as notables from the Yale Daily News, Yale Lit, and eventually the Yale Political Union. The group's decision, after much dispute, to admit women helped diversify the membership to reflect current undergraduate demographics. Numerous undergraduate constituencies are better represented among the recently tapped membership.

Members meet in the "tomb" on Thursday and Sunday evenings of each week over the course of their senior year. As with other Yale societies, the sharing of a personal history is the keystone of the senior year together in the "tomb".

Members are assigned a nickname. “Long Devil is assigned to the tallest member; Boaz (Either a short for Beelzebub or the name of one of the two detached columns of copper or bronze in King Solomon's Temple, the other one being Jachin) goes to any member who is a varsity football captain. Many of the chosen names are drawn from literature (Hamlet, Uncle Remus), from religion, and from myth. The banker Lewis Lapham passed on his name, Sancho Panza, to the political adviser Tex McCrary. Averell Harriman was Thor, Henry Luce was Baal, McGeorge Bundy was Odin.” George H. W. Bush was Magog, a name reserved for a member considered to have the most sexual experience. George W. Bush, unable to decide, was temporarily called Temporary, and the name was never changed.

Skull and Bones also owns a campground island in the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York named Deer Island. "The forty-acre retreat is intended to give Bonesmen an opportunity to 'get together and rekindle old friendships.' A century ago the island sported tennis courts and its softball fields were surrounded by rhubarb plants and gooseberry bushes. Catboats waited on the lake. Stewards catered elegant meals. Although each new Skull and Bones member still visits Deer Island, the place leaves something to be desired. 'Now it is just a bunch of burned-out stone buildings,' a patriarch sighs. 'It's basically ruins.' Another Bonesman says that to call the island 'rustic' would be to glorify it. 'It's a dump, but it's beautiful.'"

The first extended description of Skull and Bones, published in 1871 by Lyman Bagg in his book Four Years at Yale, noted that "the mystery now attending its existence forms the one great enigma which college gossip never tires of discussing." Brooks Mather Kelley attributed the secrecy of Yale senior societies to the fact that underclassmen members of freshman, sophomore, and junior class societies remained on campus following their membership, while seniors naturally left.

The secrecy surrounding Skull and Bones has been a fertile ground for speculation, and all sorts of conspiracy theories include Skull and Bones. The society is supposed to have illicit connections to the CIA, Illuminati, Bilderbergers, and/or Freemasons. These theories were the basis of the 2000 film The Skulls which concerns a highly elaborate secret society with clear parallels to Skull and Bones. Bones was also included, as well as the a cappella group the Whiffenpoofs, in the 2006 film The Good Shepherd, about the Central Intelligence Agency.

Skull and Bones has also figured from time to time in the Doonesbury comic strips by Garry Trudeau; especially in 1980 and December 1988, with reference to George H. W. Bush, and again at the time that the society went co-ed.

Probably the most famous fictional Bonesman among young people is Montgomery Burns, of The Simpsons, who attended Yale and was a member of Skull and Bones.

Judy Schiff, Chief Archivist at the Yale University Library, has written: "The names of (S&B's) members weren't kept secret, that was an innovation of the 1970s, but its meetings and practices were. The secrecy seems to have attracted fascination and curiosity from the start."

Notwithstanding that, resourceful researchers could assemble member data from these original sources, renewed attention may have been paid to leading families in Skull and Bones because in 1985 an anonymous source leaked rosters to a private researcher, Antony C. Sutton, who wrote a book on the group titled America's Secret Establishment: An Introduction to the Order of Skull & Bones. This leaked 1985 data was kept privately for over 15 years, as Sutton feared that the photocopied pages could somehow identify the member who leaked it. The information was finally reformatted as an appendix in the book Fleshing out Skull and Bones, a compilation edited by Kris Millegan, published in 2003.

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Legend of Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee alive? The answer yes. However, only in the form of television series. performed by the actor Danny Chan Kwok Kwan, Bruce Lee story alive again parsed in the serial "The Legend of Bruce Lee." Danny was playing in Kungfu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer.

The process of taking pictures during the nine months in China, Hong Kong, Macau, the United States, Italy, and Thailand. Serial The Legend of Bruce Lee narrate in detail the life of Bruce Lee began to bloom in Hong Kong and then fled to the United States to teach while learning Kungfu, which continued to his career as an actor untul his misterious death at age 32.

Humanist side of Bruce Lee also established. Spectators watching this series will know that the father of Shannon Lee and actor Brandon Lee was very afraid of this insect in the Cockroach. The Legend of Bruce Lee will appear each day in the Sunday night television station CCTV owned by the government

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Wisely and The Professor

Wisely and professor sit opposite at the train that brought them from Bandung to Jakarta. They have never met before, that is why they do not mutual conversation along the travel.

To banish boredom, professor offers something in Wisely, "Hi man, let's we play tic-guess?"

Wisely just quiet only, while look at the scenery outside the train window. This makes Professor become angry.
He said, "Wisely, so we play tic-guess, I will submit the question to you to figure out. If you can not answer it, you must pay me Rp.5.000,- But if you can answer it, I pay you Rp.50.000, -

Wisely started with a bid that interested. Professor continue, "Then, you
ask questions on. If I can answer it, I pay you enough Rp.5.000,- but if I can not answer it, I pay you Rp.50.000,- Deal? "
Wisely look interesting. He said, "Good, if that. Proposie your question now ."
"Ok," professor respond quickly.
"My question, how appropriate distance between the earth and the moon?"

Wisely just smile because do not know what the answer is. He immediately dive his pocket and submit Rp.5.000,- to the professor.
Professor delighted with the money it receives, "Well, now your chance."

Wisely think a moment, then asked, "What Animals is? When during climb up to the mountain they have two-legged. But, during down from the mountain, they have four-legged?"

Professor think hard search for the answer. He did scratch-scratch with his calculator. Then he issued a laptop, connect to the Internet and to search various sites in the encyclopaedia.

Some time, the professor tries. Finally, he surrendered. While murmur, he gave the money Rp.50.000,- on the Wisely, who accept pleased with the heart.

"Hi, whoa!" cried the professor. "I do not accept. Your question. What was the answer?"

Wisely smiled on the professor . He put money from his pocket and submit Rp.5.000,- to the professor.

Lessons that we can take from that story is "do not assume other people do not know what we know, because often behind his ignorance, they know what we do not know"

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Uncover NINJA

In Japanese history, a ninja is a warrior, trained in martial arts, and specializing in a variety of unorthodox arts of war. The methods used by ninja included assassination, espionage, stealth, camouflage, specialized weapons, and a vast array of martial arts were added after the 20th century.

The exact origins are unknown, but their roles may have included sabotage, espionage, scouting and assassination missions as a way to destabilize and cause social chaos in enemy territory or against an opposing ruler, perhaps in the service of their feudal rulers (daimyo, shogun), or an underground ninja organization waging guerilla warfare.

Ninja as a group first began to be written about in 15th century feudal Japan as martial organizations predominately in the regions of Iga and Koga of central Japan, though the practice of guerrilla warfare and undercover espionage operations goes back much further.[citation needed]

At this time, the conflicts between the clans of daimyo that controlled small regions of land had established guerrilla warfare and assassination as a valuable alternative to frontal assault. Since Bushidō, the samurai code, forbade such tactics as dishonorable, a daimyo could not expect his own troops to perform the tasks required; thus, he had to buy or broker the assistance of ninja to perform selective strikes, espionage, assassination, and infiltration of enemy strongholds.

In their history, ninja groups were small and structured around families and villages, later developing a more martial hierarchy that was able to mesh more closely with samurai and the daimyo. These certain ninjutsu trained groups were set in these villages for protection against raiders and robbers.
As a martial organization, it has been assumed that ninja would have had many rules, and keeping secret the ninja's clan and the daimyo who gave them their orders would have been one of the most important ones.

There is no evidence historical ninja wore all-black suits, in modern times, camouflage based upon dark colors such as dark red and dark blue is known to give better concealment at night. Some cloaks may have been reversible: dark colored on the outside for concealment during the night, and white colored on the inside for concealment in the snow.[citation needed] Some ninja may have worn the same armour or clothing as samurai or Japanese peasants.

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In Memoriam - Kowloon Walled City

Inhabiting a block the size of the Tokyo Dome, Kowloon Walled City resembed a living, breathing creature, born from its inhabitants over its long lifespan. But the walled city was more than a physical conglomeration of buildings and people, it was an inadvertent symbol of the long struggle between China and Hong Kong, ruled by neither. It was an "in-between zone" whose remarkable existence today can best be comprehended through images, statistics and interviews.

The history of the Walled City (known as Kowloon then) can be traced back to the Song Dynasty (960–1279), where it served as a watchpost defending the area against pirates and managing the production of salt. It was rebuilt as a fort in the mid-1800s on the same site on the Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong. After the ceding of Hong Kong Island to Britain in 1842 in accordance to the Treaty of Nanjing, the Qing (Chinese) authorities felt it necessary for them to establish a military/administrative post to rule the area and to check further British influence in the area.

The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory of 1898 which handed additional parts of Hong Kong (the New Territories) to Britain for 99 years excluded the Walled City, with a population of roughly 700, and stated that China could continue to keep troops there, so long as they did not interfere with Britain's temporary rule. Britain quickly went back on this unofficial part of the agreement, attacking Kowloon Walled City in 1899, only to find it deserted. They did nothing with it nor to the outpost, and thus sent the question of Kowloon Walled City's ownership squarely into the air. The outpost consisted of a yamen, as well as other buildings (which eventually grew into a low-lying, densely packed neighborhood within the walls), in the era between the 1890s and the 1940s. The enclave remained part of Chinese territory despite the turbulent events of the early 20th century that saw the fall of the Qing government, establishment of a Republic of China in 1911 and later, the People's Republic of China in 1949.

The Walled City remained a curiosity - and a tourist attraction where British colonials and tourists could have a taste of the old China - until 1940, when during its WWII occupation of Hong Kong, Japan evicted people from the city, and then demolished much of the city - including the wall - to provide building materials for the nearby Kai Tak Airport.

After Japan's surrender, squatters (whether former residents or - more likely - newcomers) began to occupy the Walled City, resisting several attempts by Britain in 1948 to drive them out. With no wall to protect it initially, the Walled City became a haven for crooks and drug addicts, as the Hong Kong Police had no right to enter the City. Mainland China - whether warlord, Communist, or Kuomintang - refused to take care of it. The foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949 added thousands of refugees, many from Guangdong, to the population.

By this time, Britain had had enough, and simply adopted a 'hands-off' policy. When a murder occurred in the Walled City in 1959, it set off a small diplomatic crisis as the two nations each tried to get the other to accept responsibility for this tract of land now virtually ruled by anti-Manchurian Triads (a Hong Kong organized crime syndicate).
The Triad's rule lasted until 1973–1974, when a series of over 3,000 police raids targeted them in their Kowloon Walled City stronghold.

Although the walled city was described as a hotbed of criminal activities, the daily lives of its dwellers were largely organized by the residents themselves, rather than by the Triad. Most residents were not involved in any crime and lived peacefully within its walls. Many charities and religious groups helped to improve the lives of residents. Schools and other welfare were being introduced to the district. Numerous small factories and businesses thrived inside the Walled City. The Government of Hong Kong also provided some services such as water and mail delivery in the city.

With the Triads weakened, a sort of synergy blossomed, and the Walled City began to grow almost organically. Square buildings folded up into one another as thousands of modifications were made, virtually none by architects or engineers, until hundreds of square metres were simply a kind of patchwork monolith. Labyrinthine corridors ran through the monolith, some of those being former streets (at the ground level, and often clogged up with refuse), and some of those running through upper floors, practically between buildings. The streets were illuminated by fluorescent lights, as sunlight was rare except for the rooftops. The only rules of construction were twofold: electricity had to be provided to avoid fire, and the buildings could be no more than about fourteen stories high, because of the nearby airport. A mere eight municipal pipes somehow provided water to the entire structure (although more could have come from wells).

By the early 1980s, Kowloon Walled City had an estimated population of 35,000. Being a lawless land, the city was notorious for its excess of brothels, casinos, opium dens, cocaine parlours, food courts serving dog meat, and secret factories. The Kowloon Walled City was also infamous for its high number of unsanitary dentist clinics, since this was where unlicensed dentists could operate without prosecution.
Over time, both the British and the Chinese governments found the massive, anarchic city to be increasingly intolerable - despite the low reported crime rate. The quality of life in the city, sanitary conditions in particular, was far behind the rest of Hong Kong.
After the Joint Declaration in 1984, the PRC agreed with British authorities to demolish the City and resettle its inhabitants. The mutual decision to tear down the walled city was made in 1987.

At that time, it had 50,000 inhabitants on 0.026 km², and therefore a very high population density of 1,923,077/km², making it one of the most densely populated urban areas on Earth.

The government spent some HK$ 2.7 billion in compensation to the (est 33,000) residents and businesses in a plan devised by a special committee of the Hong Kong Housing Authority. Some residents were not satisfied with the compensation, and some even obstructed the demolition in every possible way. Evacuations started in 1991 and were completed in 1992.

The 1993 movie Crime Story starring Jackie Chan was partly made in the deserted Walled City, and includes real scenes of building explosions. Kowloon Walled City was destroyed in the same year. Also, as the Walled City was beginning to be torn down, a group of Japanese explorers took about a week to tour the empty walled city, making a sort of map and a cross section of the city.
After the demolition, a park was built in its place with construction starting in May 1994.

U.S. News & World Report made a brief notice of the demolition of KWC a few months previous to the actual event. Their description of the city is indicative of outsider's perceptions about a place, a place not fitting into their ideas of normal, urban living. Although their physical portrayal of the city is accurate - "alleys choked with rubbish, rat-infested alleys and dark stairwells" - the article makes judgments based on these characteristics and ignores that a thriving community survived for over half a century. In fact much of the physical problems that gave the walled city its notoriety were, and are, problems in the rest of Hong Kong (and other world cities); the walled city merely exaggerated these conditions. As KWC, in the piece, is called, "a fetid conglomeration of 359 tenement buildings...[festering] on a 7-acre plot" and, "the cancer of Kowloon" the reader has little choice but to believe the city was an unlivable slum, not a self-organized community (the former implying a second-party perpetuating bad conditions for selfish gain). For people who lived in KWC their views are different...

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Real DRAGON Fossil

Some fossils, named the "China dragon fossils", were recently exhibited in the Xinwei Ancient Life Fossils Museum in Anshun, Guizhou. When archeologists first stripped the clay off the fossil, they found the dragon had a pair of horns above its head and the shape of the dragon was very like the legendary animal often described in books and stories.

Dragons have often appeared in Chinese legends. The dragon with two horns on its head is regarded as a totem. The totem was first invented by Chinese ancestors and worshipped by the Chinese people. Therefore Chinese people are also called the “descendents of the dragon”. For a long time, scientists thought that the dragon was a fictional animal existing only in stories.

The dragon fossil was found in Guanling County, Anshun City, in 1996, and has been kept in a good condition. It is measured 7.6 meters long. Its head is 76 centimeters long and the neck is 54 centimeters long. The body is 2.7 meters in length and 68 centimeters in width, and the tail is 3.7 meters long.

The dragon’s head is in a triangle shape. Its mouth is 43 centimeters long. The widest part of the head is 32 centimeters long. The horns project from the widest part of the head, and are symmetrical and 27 centimeters long. They are a little bit curved and tilted, which makes the fossil look very much like the legendary dragon.
The China dragon was a reptile animal living in the ocean in Triassic Period about 200 million years ago. It was an amphibian. It spent most of its time living in water, although sometimes it walked on land. It also laid eggs on land. The animal lived on fish and small reptile animals.

This is the first time that China found a dragon fossil with a pair of horns. Its discovery provides some evidence to prove that dragons might really have horns. The fossil provides important scientific information for people to trace the origin of the Chinese legendary dragon.

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TRIAD, The Inside Story

Triad is a collective term that describes many branches of an underground society and organizations based in Hong Kong and also operating in Macau, Taiwan, mainland China, and countries with significant Chinese populations such as Malaysia, Singapore and also Chinatowns in Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

There are more than 57 triad groups that are active in Hong Kong; some of them are no more than small, local street gangs. The larger groups, including the Sun Yee On, Wo Shing Wo and 14K, are syndicates of sophisticated criminals, mirror images of such similar western empires of crime as the mafia.

Their activities include drug trafficking, money laundering, illegal gambling, prostitution, car theft and other forms of racketeering. A major source of triad income today comes from the counterfeiting intellectual property such as computer software, music CDs and movie VCDs/DVDs. They also trade in bootleg tobacco products.

The Triads were started as a resistance to the Manchu Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. In the 1760s, a society called the Tian Di Hui (Heaven and Earth Society) was formed in China. Its purpose was to overthrow the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty and restore Han Chinese rule. As the Tiandihui spread through different parts of China, it branched off into many groups and became known by many names, one of which was "Sanhehui", literally "Three Harmonies Society", referring to the unity between Heaven, Earth, and Humans.

These societies accordingly made use of the triangle in their imagery. The name "triad" was coined by British authorities in Hong Kong, referring to that use of triangular imagery.

Over several centuries, what is known as triads today developed from a patriotic society to a criminal organization. Following the overthrowing of the Qing Dynasty of China in 1911, the Hung clan suddenly found themselves lost without purpose. Worse still, they somehow managed to miss out on the opportunity to participate in the actual uprising, and many of them were left angry and depressed. Unable to revert to normal civilian lives after spending years living under outlawry, grave danger and extreme violence, many ex-rebels reunited to form a cult which later came to be known as the Triad. Having lost the usual donations and support from the public after the collapse of the Qing empire, members of the newly formed cult resorted to money extortion from the unwilling public through all possible means.

When the Communist Party of China took power in 1949, mainland China was put under strict law enforcement and organized crime diminished. Triad members then migrated south to the then-British crown colony of Hong Kong for the continuance of their business. By 1931, there were eight main triad groups and they had divided Hong Kong up into geographic areas and ethnic groups that each group was responsible for controlling. The eight main ones at that time were the Wo, the Rung, the Tung, the Chuen, the Shing, the Fuk Yee Hing, the Yee On, and the Luen. Each had its own headquarters, its own sub-societies, and its own public covers. After the Riot in Hong Kong in 1956, the government actively enforced the laws that eventually diminished the Triad activities in Hong Kong.

The problems of triads in Hong Kong were worse in the 1960s and 1970s. In the past, rumour had it that the police controlled the triads and the triads took charge of the social order. If there was a kidnapping incident, the police would get the regional gang leader to resolve it. On the other hand, the police would associate with the regional gang leader in seizing the control of places where they would be in command of the businesses. Hence there was spatial stability of social powers. Then, in 1974, police corruption was effectively abated with the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Now the triads had diminishing areas to control and the boundaries of triad power also blurred out. With less benefit from usual businesses, they turned to underground dealings.

As the triads developed, certain ones began to monopolize some sectors of the economy in the 1980s and 1990s. For instance, the Sun Yee On had almost entire control over the cinema sector. However, their activity fields have decreased greatly as the triads have to struggle against the collaborative anti-triad operations among the Mainland, Macau and Hong Kong. Besides, easy profits no longer exist, and gang leaders' motive to vie for leadership diminishes.

Currently, Triad activities have been active overseas in cities with sizeable overseas Chinese populations, such as San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, Sacramento, Boston, Arcadia, Las Vegas, Auckland, Rowland Heights, New Orleans, Monterey Park, Vancouver , Toronto and São Paulo. It is also believed that London, Manchester, and Amsterdam are new centres of triad activity. They are often involved in smuggling illegal immigrants from East Asia into the USA, Canada and Britain. Triads also have associations with local Chinese street gangs such as the Jackson Street Boys (San Francisco), which operate in areas with large Chinese populations.

Nowadays, there are approximately 57 triad societies in Hong Kong, including between 15 and 20 triads actively involved in local crimes.[citation needed] The scale of triad membership is difficult even for leaders to ascertain.[citation needed] Although some triads have only 50 members, larger ones have over 30,000 members.[citation needed] The most sophisticated (and well known) triads in Hong Kong nowadays are believed to be The 14K Triad, Sun Yee On, and Wo Shing Wo.[citation needed] In the United States, 14k Triad street gangs are growing in numbers and growing to prominence in Asian American societies, even as equals to the Crips and Bloods. These street gangs usually identify with the color gray or oriental dragon tattoos or graphics on shirts.

Even though there have been reports that 27,000-strong Hong Kong Police have difficulty in dealing with 100,000-strong gang members, the counter-view says the Hong Kong police force is a highly-structured and well trained team, compared to the hardly organized gangs with many members coming and going, or being even mercenaries.

Tackling the problems brought by triads is one of the greatest challenges to Hong Kong's law enforcement teams. The Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) plays a major role, and they are supported by each and every district for their work.

The social harms done by the triads are not unknown. Even though most gangs and triads act independently (of one another), their attempt to pretend that they are "the invisible yet invincible" has made the police's work much harder by forcing their victims into silence. In order to encourage the public to report the criminal activities of triads, the Security Bureau has established the Witness Protection Unit in 1995 to augment witness security. Later in 2000 the Witness Protection Ordinance was enacted and came into operation on 9 November to provide a legal basis for the Witness Protection Programme.

However, Hong Kong police are striving with determination to strike against this social threat. The OCTB and Criminal Intelligence Bureau are working hand in hand with the Narcotics Bureau and Commercial Crime Bureau to process data and information collected by their operation units, to fight the triad heads. Other departments such as the Customs and Excise Department, Immigration Department and ICAC have also joined forces with the local police to impede expansion of triads and other organized gangs.

Ironically the law has given "protection" to the criminals. Due to inadequate authority to investigate the criminal leaders' sources of wealth and the lack of laws to impose heavier punishments such as confiscation of proceeds from crimes and extended imprisonments, the efforts of police have been hampered. Therefore, to resolve this issue, the local law system is also frequently revised to endow the police with sufficient authority to fight against triads. An example is that the police authority proposed the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance, fully in force since 1995.

According to the Security Bureau, there is no current evidence to indicate any worsening of the triad problem in Hong Kong. For ten years (1993-2002) proportion of crimes with triad involvement remained fairly steady at about 3.8%; and the figure for the first nine months in 2003 was 2.7%. Nonetheless, the bureau has added more than 240 anti-triad specialist posts since 1995/96 to strengthen the anti-triad power of the police force.

There is also a comprehensive publicity programme to forge triad awareness of the public. For instance, the Junior Police Call is an organization with complete networks to publicise anti-triad messages. At the same time, the Crime Prevention Bureau is keeping contact with local businesses and encouraging them to report triad activities.

Furthermore, the Hong Kong Police cooperate with law enforcement agency overseas specialised at organised crimes, especially of places with a sizeable Chinese population, to combat Triad at an international level.

Indeed, law enforcement is one of the most effective ways to combat the Triads in Hong Kong. It includes enforcing the Societies Ordinance and the Organized & Serious Crimes Ordinance.

The Societies Ordinance, enacted in 1949, makes all triad societies unlawful societies in Hong Kong. It stipulates that any person convicted of professing or claiming to be an office bearer or managing or assisting in the management of a triad society can be fined up to HK$1 million and imprisoned for up to 15 years. Membership of a triad society is itself an offence punishable with fines from HK$100,000 to HK$250,000 and 3 to 7 years' imprisonment.

The Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance was enacted in Hong Kong in 1994. The Ordinance aims to provide the Police with special investigative powers, to provide heavier sentences for organized crime activities, and to provide the Courts with the power to confiscate the proceeds of organized crime. The same investigative powers exist also for drug trafficking crimes and terrorism (since 7 January 2005).

Sadly, however, several high level cases of triad-influced police corruption has played a role in the triad's notoriety.

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THE HITMAN From Video Games

Agent 47, also known as Mr. 47, is a fictional character and main protagonist of the Hitman video game series, created by IO Interactive, and appears in all four installments. Other than the video games, 47 appears in the novel Hitman: Enemy Within and the film adaptation of the series. 47's name is derived from a barcode tattooed on the back of his head (640509-040147), the last two digits of which are "47". Agent 47 is an assassin working for the International Contract Agency and normally works under aliases during his missions; examples include Tobias Rieper (a play on "the Grim Reaper"), Metzger (German for butcher), Julio, Byrd, Johnson, Jacob Leiter, and Dr. Cropes (an anagram of "corpse"). 47 is modeled on and voiced by David Bateson in the games and is portrayed by Timothy Olyphant in the film adaptation. According to the games and the film, 47 is of Romanian descent, and can speak French and English fluently.

47 is frequently depicted in his usually in the atire of an Italian black suit, black leather gloves, white striped dress shirt and red tie. Alternate costumes are rare however in Hitman: Codename: 47, 47 wears guerrilla camouflage in the jungle; and the Eastern missions in Hitman 2: Silent Assassin in which he wears a protective parka in the Japanese mountains and a black turban in the Middle East. 47 also frequently carries his signature customised AMT Hardballers and are seen with him in many of the game covers, in Hitman: Contracts and in Blood Money they were dubbed with the name "Silverballers". According to Jacob Andersen, lead designer of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Agent 47 went from being "a mean old hairy guy" to having "hi-tech glasses" before getting to his current design. More inspiration came from "comic books, Hong Kong movies," and other similar media.According to Game Director Rasmus Højengaard (Hoejengaard), the idea of a clone, the idea that 47's future is decided by the people that created him, intrigued the Hitman team. Hojengaard felt the idea of creating the "ultimate assassin" by cloning "evolved with the character before the first Hitman game was done".
47 is modeled after David Bateson, the veteran actor who has voiced 47 in every Hitman game.47 is a genetically-enhanced clone, the culmination of decades of secret research into gene augmentation. His creation was funded by a cabal of criminal masterminds who donated their own DNA to the project.
In the 1950s, five men of various nationalities served in the same unit of the French Foreign Legion. After their stint was finished, four of those men returned to their respective countries and founded their own criminal empires. The remaining one, Dr. Otto Ort-Meyer, ran a mental institution, which he used as a cover for genetic experiments. In exchange for research funding, Ort-Meyer provided his former comrades with donor organs harvested from clone bodies, which significantly extended their longevity. In Hitman: Codename 47, each of Ort-Meyer's accomplices are said to be 60-70 years old, but appearing 10-20 years younger.
The men whose DNA contributed to 47's creation are often referred to within the series as the "Five Fathers", consisting of Dr. Otto Wolfgang Ort-Meyer, Lee Hong, Pablo Ochoa, Franz Fuchs and Arkadij Jegorov. Otto Wolfgang Ort-Meyer is a discredited German scientist living in Romania, whose radical theories were deemed insane by his peers. Ort-Meyer believed that genetic recombination and human cloning could be used to produce a perfected version of the human species, superior in strength and mind and unburdened by conscience. His ultimate goal, unbeknownst to his associates, was to create an army of flawless and unquestioningly obedient supermen. When Ort-Meyer's associates become suspicious of his motives, he employs 47 to systematically eliminate each of them. When 47 discovers Ort-Meyer's plans, he manages to eradicate his latest series of clones, known as the Mr. 48s, and snaps Ort-Meyer's neck.
Lee Hong is a Chinese crime lord. Hong eventually rose to the head of the Red Dragon triad, becoming a powerful ganglord in Hong Kong. 47 weakens Hong's influence before assassinating him.
Pablo Belisario Ochoa is a notorious Latin American drug dealer and formed his own drug cartel by violently eliminating his rivals. However, his methods earned him great animosity, and he was eventually forced to flee to a compound deep inside the Colombian rainforest. Pablo appears to be heavily-inspired by fictional character Tony Montana from the film "Scarface".
Franz Fuchs is a former member of the Hitler Youth, after apparently resenting the collapse of fascism. He developed a career as a professional terrorist-for-hire, organizing attacks such as the attempted chemical bombing of the G7 leadership. He works closely with his brother and partner, Fritz. It isn't revealed whether or not Fuchs is based on the real life Franz Fuchs, who was also a terrorist.
The final person who contributed to 47's DNA was Arkadij "Boris" Jegorov. Jegorov was a staunch anti-Communist. Jegorov became a worldwide arms dealer who smuggled weaponry for his older brother, Russian mafia boss Sergei Zavorotko.[5] At the time of his death, he attempted to traffic in nuclear weapons.
Ort-Meyer's research produced many failed attempts and aborted mutants, including Mr. 17, but ultimately he managed to perfect the process enough to produce an assembly line of genetically augmented clones. 47 belonged to Ort-Meyer's fourth series of clones, possessing a 47th chromosome which, combined with DNA harvested from the world's most dangerous criminals, endowed him with levels of strength, speed, stamina, and intelligence significantly above the human norm. (In real life, possessing an extra chromosome can lead to problems such as infertility, Down Syndrome and premature death. However artificial chromosomes are currently being pursued as a method of inserting new genetic material into genetically modified organisms.)
In Hitman: Blood Money, it is explained that American interests had repeatedly attempted to replicate Ort-Meyer's success, but were largely unsuccessful. 47 is the first and only successful healthy cloned specimen, and nothing has yet come to parallel him; while other attempts have come close, they were plagued by problems such as albinism and extremely short lifespans. Ort-Meyer's research was distributed among many covert cloning labs, but is insufficient; a sample of 47's bone marrow is needed to fill in the DNA gaps, making him an extremely valuable specimen.Born on September 5, 1964 in Romania and tagged with the identity 640509-040147 on the back of his head, 47 was raised with the other "Series IV" clones by the asylum's staff. From the beginning, Dr. Ort-Meyer identified 47 as his most promising creation. While maturing, 47 was quiet and showed little social behavior, his only display of affection being toward a runaway laboratory rabbit he adopted much to Ort-Meyer's displeasure. 47 also had a fairly negative relationship with the asylum staff, attributed to his chronic uneasiness stemming from his regular medical checkups and frequent injections. On one occasion, 47 stabbed a doctor repeatedly with several needles, prompting Ort-Meyer to increase the personnel assigned to him.
Along with the other clones, 47 was trained from youth to kill efficiently. Instructed in the use of firearms, military hardware, and more classic tools of assassination, 47 can wield virtually any weapon with ease. During his training, he was noted for his exceptional marksmanship, as well as for attacking the asylum staff with homemade slingshots, all of which were promptly confiscated.
After 30 years of relentless training under the tutelage of Dr. Ort-Meyer, 47 discovered a gap in the asylum's security. After escaping his cell and killing a security guard, 47 disguised himself in the guard's uniform and escaped from the asylum grounds. Unbeknownst to him, 47's escape was deliberately orchestrated by Ort-Meyer, who concluded that 47's escape into the outside world was the final challenge in his training.47 was soon employed by the International Contract Agency, a clandestine organization providing assassination and mercenary services. With a lifetime of training and genetically augmented physical abilities, 47 soon rose to become the Agency's most effective and most requested employee.
He retired between the events of Hitman: Codename 47 and Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, a span of roughly two years, before returning to work there.47 is an introverted character who almost always speaks in a calm, formal manner (with the exception of Hitman: Blood Money, where he shouted "Bitch!" at Diana when she injected him from behind with a needle). In his natural setting, however, he is usually seen alone.
One of his mottos appears to have become "Trust no one". He once demonstrated a high degree of devotion to Father Vittorio, the Sicilian priest who gave him shelter in Silent Assassin, going so far as to rescue Vittorio from the Russian mafia even though there was no monetary reward in it (in fact, according to Vittorio, 47 donated a large percentage of his earnings from Hitman: Codename 47 to the Catholic Church). In the end, 47's work spilled over into the Sicilian church, prompting him to sever his ties with it and become a nomad once more. 47 places a significant measure of trust in his Agency contact and liaison, Diana Burnwood. She is the one character in the whole game series that 47 has constant contact with. As a rule, however, they never meet face-to-face unless absolutely necessary, especially during a mission.
On rare occasions, 47 can also show a warm side to his personality. When being raised by Dr. Ort-Meyer, he befriended a rabbit. A recurring character in the series with whom he has shown considerable forbearance is Lei Ling/Mei Ling (her name was changed to "Mei Ling" in Hitman: Contracts), rescuing her from sex slavery in the first game in exchange for a safe combination. The player can optionally rescue her again from the exact same situation in the sequel, although in return he gets a keycard. In two other levels in the same sequel, the player can optionally rescue a prisoner being beaten by a couple of guards (in return, the prisoner tells 47 the location of his target) and a German ambassador about to be killed by a Spetsnaz agent. In Hitman: Blood Money, 47 picks up a small canary during his travels. However, he later kills the canary to silence it when he hears an intruder approaching his position.
47, along with Ort-Meyer's other clones, are completely bald and no hair ever grows on their head, although whether this hair loss is a side effect of the cloning process or part Ort-Meyer's design is never disclosed. The only visible sign of hair on 47's body are his eyebrows, which are brown. His skin is very pale and he also has blue eyes. A barcode is prominently tattooed on the back of his head, which lists his date of creation and series identification number (640509-040147). His facial features are often considered imposing by other characters, with a long face, large cheekbones, prominent brow, and recessed forehead. According to information found in Blood Money, he is slightly over 6 ft tall.
47's barcode tattoo serves two functions: it identifies him among the other clones and acts as a security key to access Dr. Ort-Meyer's laboratory. 47's barcode is implied to be in Code 39; according to Dr. Ort-Meyer's journal, the barcode was added to the tattoo in 1975, one year after the code was developed. Curiously, all other characters seem completely oblivious to the tattoo, including newspaper descriptions of 47 in Blood Money completely failing to mention it.While not superhuman, 47's abilities are considered superior to that of human beings. In several instances, he has survived gunshot wounds including one straight shot to the stomach in Hitman: Contracts. 47 is very athletic, able to sprint faster and farther than an average human, climb pipes with ease, and leap across balconies.
Due to his successful track record, 47 is usually given the Agency's largest and most difficult assignments. 47 completes all of his assignments with unwavering accuracy, fulfilling all of his objectives and always eliminating his targets without hesitation. 47's stealth and cunning are legendary; he is regarded by the world as an urban legend, and few even know of his appearance.Very Different from the movie adaptation, huh...

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Jedi's LIGHTSABER in STARWARS Movie

The lightsaber is a fictional weapon that plays a key role in the movie, games and novels that constitute the Starwars universe. Lightsabers are science fiction versions of their namesake, the saber. Instead of a metal blade, the lightsaber holds a retractable, brightly colored "energy blade" about one meter in length. Though they often behave like regular sword, they are also depicted as able to cut through most matter with little or no resistance and to deflect projectiles and other weapons in the Star Wars universe. The lightsaber first appeared in the film Starwars IV: New Hope (1977). Rotoscoping was used to create the lightsaber's distinct appearance in the original trilogy. For the prequel trilogy, the effect was created using computer animation.

Within the fiction of Star Wars, the lightsaber "blade" consists of a very tight loop of highly focused energy, or a loop of plasma contained in a strong magnetic or other field. When deactivated, a lightsaber appears as a polished metallic handle, about 30 centimeters long. Lightsabers emit a distinctive hum when active, which rises in pitch and volume as the blade is moved rapidly through the air. A loud crackling noise is heard when two lightsaber blades come into contact.

Designed as much for elegance in combat as for ceremony, the lightsaber was a distinctive weapon, the very image of which was inextricably bound with the mythos of the Jedi and the Sith.
It was a blade of pure energy emitted from a hilt most often crafted by the wielder to match their own needs, preferences, and style. Because of the unique balance of the saber, with all its weight in the hilt, and a strong gyroscopic effect it was very difficult for the untrained to wield. In the hands of an expert in tune with the Force, such as the Jedi or their fallen brethren, the Sith, the lightsaber was a weapon to be greatly respected, even feared. To wield a lightsaber was to demonstrate incredible skill and confidence, as well as masterful dexterity and attunement to the Force.
Through the millennia of their use, the lightsaber became synonymous with the Jedi and their values to uphold peace and justice throughout the galaxy. This perception endured despite the many early conflicts with Sith and Dark Jedi who also wielded what the general populace often called laser swords.
The ritual of constructing one's own lightsaber was an integral part of Jedi training, and involved not just technological skill, but also a close attunement to the Force. In the days of the Old Republic, the ice caverns of Ilum were used as a ceremonial site where Padawans came to build their first sabers. It was here and similar places like the caves near the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine that the Jedi would choose the best focusing crystal for them through meditation and communion with the Force, and then complete the assembly of their lightsaber.
Traditionally, constructing a lightsaber took about a month. This includes assembling the pieces, both by hand and with the Force, and meditating to imbue the crystals. A Jedi would often spend weeks putting it together, making sure that each part fit perfectly, and that it met their exact preferences in length, color, blade frequency, and so on; at the height of the Clone Wars, though, it was reported that one could be built in as little as two days. Corran Horn's first lightsaber, a dual-phase lightsaber constructed during his time under cover as an Invid pirate, is an example of one made in such a timeframe.

The lightsaber's hilt consisted of an alloy cylinder traditionally 25 to 30 centimeters long; however, design and dimensions of hilts varied greatly in part to the preferences and physiological needs of each creator. The hilt casing contained the intricate components that created and shaped the unique blade. High-powered energy was unleashed through a series of positively charged focusing lenses and energizers, manifesting a beam of energy that extended outward from the base to a length of about a meter, then arced circumferentially back to a negatively charged fissure ringing the emitter. A superconductor completed the power loop by feeding the transformed energy back into the internal power cell, where the energy loop began anew. By adding up to three focusing crystals of varying attributes, the blade's length and power output could be adjusted using control mechanisms built into the hilt's shaft.
Two crystals employing a bifurcating cyclical-ignition pulse would allow the blade to be used underwater, but this modification added difficulty to what was an already complicated construction process. As a result, most lightsabers did not include 'waterproofing', and would short out when submerged in water. Rain, however, was vaporized on contact. Generally only Jedi from aquatic races such as Kit Fisto, would go to the trouble of constructing a waterproof saber, as only they had the mobility to use it effectively underwater.
Whether by the fledgling Padawan or the experienced master, construction of the lightsaber began with the acquisition of the necessary components with which to build the weapon. All lightsabers contain some common basic components:

A cutaway of Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber from A New Hope.
A handgrip
An activation stud plate
A safety switch
An emitter matrix
A lens assembly
A power cell (for the most part, unlimited in power; requires little recharging)
A power conduit
A recharge socket (recharges the power cell when the lightsaber is off)
One to three focusing crystals
Many lightsabers, such as that wielded by Zayne Carrick in 3,964 BBY, made use of a pressure sensor in the hilt's grip that deactivated the blade whenever it was released. Notably, Dart Maul's double-bladed lightsaber lacked such a security measure. Other lightsabers were constructed either without the pressure sensor or with a locking mechanism to keep the blade activated when thrown or dropped.
Traditionally, the crystal was the last component to be sought. It was the very life essence of the weapon, and gave it both its color and potency. Much scrutiny went into the selection of this final and most important element of the lightsaber.

Padawans learning to build lightsabers under Vodo-Siosk Baas.
With all the components in hand, the Jedi would begin the assembly process. Because of the intricacies of the technology used, the Force was employed to bind the components at a molecular level. This micro-manipulation of the components enabled the closed loop design to operate with near-perfect efficiency.
While many lightsabers appear similar at first glance, closer inspection reveals many differences (subtle or obvious) in design. Because each Jedi personally constructed his or her own weapon from scratch, no two lightsabers were the same. However, some Padawans built their lightsabers to resemble those of their Masters as a sign of respect.
The knowledge of lightsaber construction largely disappeared during the extermination of the Jedi, but Luke Skywalker found the records and the materials he needed to construct his own lightsaber in Obi-Wan Kenobi's hut on Tatooine.
It is also important to note that Wade Vox and Jaden Korr were among the few capable of successfully constructing a lightsaber without any formal Jedi instruction.

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